Reflections

Not My Hand 1 Samuel 24:1-15 I said, "I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed." —1 Samuel 24:10 There are times when it’s best to wait for God to act instead of trying to make things happen ourselves. It’s a lesson we see clearly when David refused to take King Saul’s life, even though the king was trying to kill him (1 Samuel 24). When Saul was alone and vulnerable in a cave, David’s men told him this was a God-given opportunity to take the kingship that rightfully belonged to him (v.4). But David refused, saying, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him” (v.6). After Saul left the cave, David called out to him, “Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you” (v.12). David knew that God had chosen him to become king. But he also knew that killing Saul was not the right way to make it hap...

Our Place Of Refuge Psalms 57 In the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.(Psalm 57:1) It is believed that David wrote Psalm 57 while fleeing from King Saul, who had hatred in his heart for the former shepherd boy. David ducked into a cave and barely escaped his pursuer. He was safe temporarily, but the threat was still there. We’ve all been there. Maybe not in a cave, but pursued by something that strikes fear into our hearts. Perhaps it is the deep sorrow that follows the death of someone we love. Maybe it’s the fear of an unknown future. Or it could be an oppressive physical illness that won’t go away. In such circumstances, God does not always remove the difficulty, but He is present to help us. We wish that He would swoop in and whisk us to safety—just as David may have wished for a quick end to Saul’s pursuit. We plead with God to stop the pain and make the road to tomorrow smooth and straight. We beg Him to eliminate our str...

Judgement against Pride Isaiah 2:10-22 Pride goes before the Fall Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty (Isa 2:10).   Cedars, Oaks, Mountains, Hills, Towers, Fortified Walls, Ships of Tarshish, and "all the beautiful craft"... What do all of these have in common? They are "proud and lofty" (v. 12). As it goes it the story of a proud stag that was proud of its antlers but ashamed of its ugly legs... when the hunter comes, his antlers gets entangled in a bush endangering its life but the so called ugly legs saves its life. Often the things that we are proud of are the ca uses our fall.. We all know the proverb, "Pride goes before the Fall". Pride and arrogance stands in contrast to the kingdom values. Only the name of the Lord should be exalted. Arrogance and Pride should be dismantled for the furtherance of God's kingdom. Today, people take pride in their possession, position and p...

Renewal of the Church Mark  5: 14-16 Those who has seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it ( Mark 5:16). In the New Testament, church means "people," not "buildings." According to John Stott "The church lies at the very heart of God's eternal purpose. God's purpose is not merely to save isolated individuals. God's purpose is to build a church, to build a redeemed people for his own glory. In fact renewal does not involve any doctrinal changes or new practices. It can be described as a refreshing of the Holy Spirit in the everyday life of the believer who thereby through his life brings renewal in the church and society as a whole. Thus the question is how do we bring this renewal? Jesus talks about the renewal of God's people using two analogies and that of Light and salt. How does this object become a tool and a paradigm for renewal?. Let us look qualitatively at the transformative changes that light and salt bri...

RE(NEW) RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 for we are fellow workers in God's service; you are God's field God's buildings. Many of us would have witnessed a number of fights in the churches we attend and seen various groups emerging claiming themselves to be right. The church in Corinth was no different. It was going through a similar phase. There were groups and this want good. Chapter 3 deals with this very issue of the church. Paul in this portion states that though he is the one who laid the foundation, it was someone else who was building it. But as we progress our reading he stresses that it is Christ Jesus alone who is the founder of the church and the one who has laid the foundation. As Peter in his epistle 1 Peter 2:6 taken from Is 28:16 states that He i.e. Jesus is the Corner stone and that the Church was built on ...

The Sin of Being Rich in a Poor Society Isaiah 2: 5-9 Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures (Isa 2:7). Prophet Isaiah condemned the ill-gotten wealth of Israel as it took the people away from both God and their fellow human beings. He ominously declared, "Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land" (Isa. 5:8). The statement in today's passage, "Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures" (v. 7) suggests that the people have been hoarding riches instead of sharing them for the common good. Affluence doesn't happen overnight. It takes time: almost always, over many years. Its results are not immediately apparent, especially to the great majority of people. The more the affluence is spread around, the more everyone approves of it. But inevitably the distribution of weal...

Beating Swords into Ploughshares Isaiah 2:1-4 Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isa 2:4).   Many modern scholars maintain that Isaiah 2: 2-4 (compare to Micah 4: 1-5) dates to the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BCE, because of the analogy with the Akitu festival and the passage's many affinities with Second Isaiah (chapters 40-54). Like Second Isaiah, today's passage envisages peace among the nations who will recognize YHWH as the sovereign deity of all creation and the nations of the world. In the first verses of the second chapter of Isaiah, the prophet announces the preparations of Zion/Jerusalem for its role as the centre for YHWH's worldwide sovereignty. The portrayal of Jerusalem here as the site of the holy temple of YHWH, to which the nations would flock to learn divine ...